Association of physical performance and sarcopenia with use of health services in elderly people living in rural riverside areas in the Amazon: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Access is considered one of the necessary conditions for achieving effectiveness and quality in health services. However, it represents a complex construct, with several interpretations, and can be understood as the ease or degree of difficulty with which people obtain effective and timely care. Barriers to access can be related to individual characteristics and those of health systems and services.

Self-reported chronic back pain in the elderly living in rural riverine areas in the Amazon.

Introduction: The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-reported chronic low back pain and to identify the associated factors in elderly people living in rural riverside areas in the Amazon.

Methods: Data from a cross-sectional home-based survey performed in 38 riverside rural locations along the left bank of the Negro River, in the municipality of Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, were analyzed. The selected elderly people answered a questionnaire comprising items related to the living conditions, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, health status and utilization of health services.